Can't Stop the World
by The Lone Wanderer
Summary: Zack, Cloud and Aerith are a triangle, strong on their own, but unbreakable together. They're inseparable, but are threatened to be torn apart. Throughout it all, they remember: love is not a victory march, it's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah.
1. The Beginning

**This idea has been sitting in my head for a bit, and I couldn't stop squirming in my seat (not really, but shh) until I did something about it.**

**This story is very AU, and it starts out with kiddies! (As you will soon see)**

**Please leave a review telling me what you think about it (Whether I should continue it or whatnot).**

**I don't own FFVII**

**Thanks!  
**

--

It starts on a sunny day, her favorite kind. The sun is high in the sky, and the clouds are few, and when they appear, they are in the shapes of different flowers, her favorite thing.

She is six years old, and more excited for Kindergarten than one would expect a young girl to be. But she doesn't care. She skips on the sidewalk, happy as she breathes in fresh air that carries the faint scent of daisies that are planted among the bushes that sit beside her.

The school is big, for a six year old. It looms over her like a giant bear. But, she faces it fearlessly, eager to learn, and to make new friends.

Walking through the big doors of the elementary school, she notices a small black-haired boy leaning against the brick wall, but she doesn't take any mind. She is unaware of the impact this boy will make on her life, and for the moment, gives him a smile and skips past him as he stares at her, giving her a confused look for her kind gesture.

Her teacher is Ms. Rose, a name fitting for her. She is young, and beautiful, and the girl wishes that she will be as pretty when she is older. She hangs her backpack on the hook in the back that is labeled _Aerith Gainsborough_. Back there, she meets a small blond boy whose hair bears more than a slight resemblance to a chocobo's backside. This is another person who will have more than a small effect on her life, but at the moment, she is oblivious.

"Hi!" she says cheerily, catching the boy off guard.

He looks at her, and smiles. He is slightly shorter than Aerith, but she is not surprised. Her mother always told her girls grow faster than boys. "Hi," he replies.

Aerith bounds to her seat then, excited for the class to begin.

Ms. Rose calls out attendance, and once that is over with, the learning begins. A newly sharpened writing utensil is passed out to each student, and Aerith takes hers curiously. The teacher calls it a pencil, and it is narrower than a crayon, but longer, with a more refined point. She wonders what good it will do for coloring; gray is such a bland color to her.

Ms. Rose claps her hands together, and Aerith looks up. "Today, we will learn how to print our names!" she says enthusiastically. She writes each letter individually on the board, and Aerith picks out the _A, E, R, I, T, _and _H_, remembering the similarities between those letters and how they all looked on her backpack hook. She grasps the pencil like a crayon and begins to write, but the tip soon after it touches down on the lined paper that was also given to each student. Aerith sticks her tiny hand up into the air and waves it around, trying to catch Ms. Rose's attention. She does, and soon the teacher comes over and hands her a new pencil, and teaches her how to old it.

Aerith takes a hold of the pencil again, this time with her pointer and middle finger touching, and her thumb on the opposite side. She lets it touch down delicately, afraid it will break again. It doesn't this time, and so she begins to write.

The _A _comes out, though sloppy, and she lets out a squeal of joy. Seeing that _A_, she feels like she is being born again. In a way, that _A _is her. It is thin and delicate (minus the messy spots), just like a lady, but there is a quickness in it that shows the earnest with which it was written. It fits Aerith's nature, and she has a smile on her face as she continues. Soon her whole name is written, and Ms. Rose comes over to congratulate her. Aerith beams, and waggles her feet around underneath her, the pink sandals brushing against the ground ever so slightly.

The class is soon over, and the class floods out the door like a tsunami, with Aerith a mere victim in the natural disaster.

It is recess time, and the halls are crowded as students run to get outside, not wanting to waste any of their precious time to play.

As Aerith steps outside, she sees the blond haired boy again, but this time he is surrounded by three boys, all of whom look older than he is. He is on his backside in the dirt, and Aerith squints her eyes to get a better look, and sees that he is crying. Her good-natured side takes over, and she hurries across the playground to get a better look.

As she nears, she hears the words, "Your mom's a whore," being said, quite loudly. Aerith doesn't quite know what the word "whore" means, but the way it is said, or more spat, gives her the thought that it isn't a very nice word, and one that an elementary schooler shouldn't be using.

The blond haired boy is still on the ground, not even trying to get up, and one of the bullies kicks a clump of dirt into his face. She wants to stop it, but knows she wouldn't be able to do anything against a trio of older boys. She is not the only one who wants to see the bullying stopped though.

A black blur catches her eye, and she sees a boy leap onto one of the bully's backs. The boy yells, and begins to wail on the bully's head, his tiny fists pounding into his head. The bully lets out a cry of pain, and drops to the ground. The black haired boy is soon over powered though by the other two bullies, and he is held by his arms and the attacked one gets back to his feet.

The leading bully rears his fist back, ready to get his revenge on the black haired boy, but a teacher sees them, and quickly comes over to break up the fight. She sends the three older boys away, and leans down to comfort the blond haired boy. The black haired boy is also on his knees, checking to make sure the blond is okay. Once assured that he is, the black haired boy pushes him onto the ground again and sprints away, laughing.

The blond stands up and waves a tiny fist before chasing after him, yelling, "Zack!" as he runs.

Aerith cocks her head, and watches the chase. The boy named Zack is clearly faster than the blond, and has more energy too. The blond stops close to where he started, his hands on his thighs as he pants. Zack, though, continues to run and laugh, oblivious to the fact that he was no longer being pursued.

"Are you okay?" Aerith finds herself asking before even thinking. The blond looks up, and Aerith gets a good look at his face, now that she can focus on something other than his gravity defying blond hair. He has a fair complexion with a small nose. His eyes are ice blue and she decides that they fit his skin and hair color.

"Zack cheats," he says instantly, defending his inability to catch the other boy. He assumes that Aerith is going to make fun of him for something, and it is the first thing that comes to mind.

Instead, she smiles, and sticks out a hand. She is not quite sure what she is supposed to do when she meets someone, but she sees this on TV. "I'm Aerith."

The blond apparently doesn't know what to do as well, for he does what he remembers hearing in fairy tales, and bends down as he takes Aerith's hand, kissing it. It is not as graceful as anything Aerith has seen in her mother's romance movies, but she thinks it's sweet. "I'm Cloud. Nice to meet you!" He looks relieved that someone is not making fun of him, and instead trying to make friends.

The mood is ruined however, when Zack runes past the two, and screams in their faces, "Cooties! Cloud's gonna get cooties!" Aerith feels his warm breath on her face, and is surprised when she inhales the scent of peppermint. A little spit sprinkles her face, but she doesn't brush it away, instead choosing to stand in shock at the whole situation.

Cloud instantly lets go of Aerith's hand as he takes off again, yelling this time, "Am not!"

Aerith is perplexed by the actions of Zack. If he is Cloud's friend, which she guesses from seeing him stand up for Cloud against the bullies, why is he making fun of Cloud for being nice to a girl? It is a question that throughout her years of knowing the two, she never finds the answer to.

--

**I hope you guys liked it!**

**My other stories don't really have a updating schedule, but I'm aiming for every Sunday for this one!**

**Thanks in advance for any comments!**

**-The Lone Wanderer  
**


	2. The Next Week

**Hey again!**

**I actually got this chapter out at the designated time (go me!) but a week in the summer is a long time to write :P That's probably why this chapter is long than the others I write (not by much though).**

**I'm really liking this story so far, and I have it all planned out and where I want it to go, so you can have all the theories you want, and I won't say a thing :D**

**Thank you everyone who reviewed! Please do so again, and anybody else who wants to leave a comment!**

**I actually have a question for you guys: how do I request a beta? I'm at her profile, but I dunno how to request her to be my beta. If any of you know how, I would appreciate any help!**

**I don't own FF7**

--

It is a week later and Aerith and Cloud are best friends. They are inseparable and go everywhere together, while is constantly there to sulk behind them. Every once in a while he makes a comment regarding cooties, and every time Aerith turns her head to glare at him, and she swears that she sees a hint of a smirk on his face each time.

She doesn't understand why Zack doesn't either make nice with her or go find new friends. At first she guesses that Zack is fairly antisocial and wouldn't be able to make any friends, but she soon finds out that isn't the case. Cloud tells her how Zack is incredibly talkative and usually doesn't shut up, and it makes Aerith laugh.

She also learns other things about the two boys. Cloud is a year younger and started school early, while Zack is the opposite, a year older because he started school late. She notices striking similarities in their looks, except instead of blond hair, Zack has black, and instead of ice blue, his eyes are violet. They also have different personalities. Cloud is quiet, and Aerith finds that relaxing, while Zack is the talkative one when he is apparently _not _around her.

----

The first incident where their friendship really develops happens in their second week of school. The bullies are back, only this time, instead of attacking Cloud because of his mother, they choose to pick on him because he is friends with Aerith.

They corner the three of them on the playground against the big oak tree that shelters them from the sun during lunch. Instead of being shelter now, it is a wall that keeps them from escaping.

The one that Zack knocked down is again leading, and he starts by sneering at Cloud. "Friends with a girl, eh? You're gonna get _cooties_." Aerith is annoyed by this, and she feels different than when Zack says it. When Zack says, she knows he is just annoyed and it is more of a teasing, but when this boy speaks, there is malicious intent behind his words.

"Girls don't have cooties," Aerith insists, crossing her arms. Her white and blue dress swings around her ankles, making her look bigger than she really is.

"Yes they do," the second bully says. He is bigger than the first, but skinnier, and just by looking at him Aerith can tell he is a follower, not a leader.

"Do not," Cloud shoots back, his brow furrowing as he glares at the tall one.

The leader laughs as he shoves Cloud onto the ground. "Here, let's get these cooties off of you. The mud'll help." The ground is slightly wet from the rain the day before, and Cloud's hands shoot out under him to break his fall, and mud splatters up as they connect with the ground. Aerith watches the mud as it comes at her, and just stares as it hits her dress in small blotches. She knows her dress is ruined, and although she tries to hold it back, she can't, and tears begin to roll down her face. She manages to keep quiet though, instead focusing her thoughts on a question that has been lurking in her mind the entire time. Where's Zack? He's been quiet this whole time, and she would have guessed that he would have spoken up a while ago to defend Cloud.

The tall one catches Aerith crying, and begins to laugh, nudging the leader and pointing to catch his attention. The leader smirks as he sees her. "See, we're doing you a favor chocobo. She's a cry - baby, and it'd be better to get rid of her sooner than later."

Cloud attempts to stand up, but is quickly shoved back down. He yelps as his head hits a tree root, and when he sticks his hand behind his head to feel the bump, it comes away red at sticky. His vision begins to fade. He has always been squeamish, and seeing this now . . .

The teachers aren't paying attention, and Zack takes it into his own hands to solve this problem. He was quiet because he thought that maybe these bullies would get rid of Aerith and he and Cloud could play their games again, but even as a seven year old, he knows they have crossed the line. He picks up a stick from the ground slowly, making sure the bullies' attention are still on the other two. It feels like a good weight, and it sits comfortably in Zack's hands.

It's time. "Hey!" Zack shouts suddenly, and both bullies look at him. He lets out a cry as he lunges past Aerith and Cloud, latching his left hand onto the leader's neckline of his shirt as he waves his stick like a sword. He brings it down onto his head, and the leader cries out in pain. He drops to his knees as he brings his hands to his head, protecting himself. Satisfied, Zack turns to the second, taller bully, and raises the stick again. Just as he is about to swing it, a hand grabs his wrist gently, but firmly, and he stops instantly. He looks up slowly, eyes widening as he sees it's Mr. Murphy. Of course the teacher comes to see Zack beating up on the bullies.

----

Cloud is in the nurse's, so Zack and Aerith are alone in the Principal's office. The Principal's office is bare, and it feels like the inside of dentist's office. Too sterile, and without care for whether or not the children that will spend time in it will like it or not.

The Principal's face is red and round; it reminds Aerith of a tomato. She doesn't say that though, because she doesn't want to get the principal on another yelling streak. He just finished telling Zack the problems with violence and is now asking him what he thought he was doing.

"Defending my friends," Zack replies instantly, as if the action of defending one's friends was as natural as breathing to him.

Although it is subtle, Aerith notices how Zack used plural form of "friend". It makes her smile, knowing that Zack has finally accepted her, and she thinks that maybe he'll be back to his cheerful form now instead of depressed, sucking the life out of anything she or Cloud did.

The Principal catches her smiling, and whirls on her. "You think this is funny young lady?" He obviously misinterprets the motivation behind her smile.

Before she can speak though, Zack comes to her defense. "Sir," he says, voice wavering, "she didn't do anything. It was me. I mean, it wasn't me, it was those other guys, but she didn't do anything." By the time he's done he's kneeling in his seat from all the fidgeting he's been doing.

As the Principal mulls over what Zack has just said, Aerith takes a good look at Zack. She stares at him, noticing a small scar on his neck, when he looks over. Her face turns bright red from embarrassment, but he just smiles at her. It was the first real smile he's given to her.

"All right Aerith, you can go," the Principal decides. "But you, Zack, I'm calling your parents."

Aerith hesitantly stands up before leaving, her little feet shuffling beneath her. She takes one last glance at Zack before closing the door behind her.

----

Zack ends up getting grounded for a week, and Aerith and Cloud spend that time figuring out something to give him as a "thank you". Aerith ends up making a small necklace of flowers, and while Cloud insists he wouldn't like it, Aerith decides to stick with it anyway.

Cloud steals duct tape from his mother's cupboard, and ties together a group of sticks to make a real sword that Zack can use when they play their games.

"Should you really be promoting violence right after he gets ungrounded _for _violence?" Aerith asks as she ties the stems of two flowers together.

"It's just for a game Aerith, don't worry about it." Cloud's words are muffled though as he bites a piece of duct tape to get it to rip. He then wraps it around the biggest stick in order to fasten a hilt around it.

Cloud stands up and swings the makeshift sword a few times. It wobbles a bit, but overall it stays together. Cloud decides it needs to be sturdier though and squats back down, biting off another piece of duct tape.

----

Zack sits on his bed, his legs swinging back and forth, creating a _thump_ sound each time a foot hits the bed. A small rubber ball moves up and down in his hand as he tosses it up and down, up and down. The game eventually bores him and he throws the ball across the room. It hits the wall and bounces off, rolling behind a dirty t-shirt and out of sight.

He lets out an exaggerated sigh before throwing his head and arms backwards onto the bed.

He hears a few raps on the door, and then it creaks open. He turns over quickly so that his face is pressed against the pillow, preventing his father from seeing his expression.

"Zack, what you did today was wrong," his father begins. "Why did you do it?" Zack's father's voice is terse, and it bugs Zack.

His head still facing his pillow, he says, "They were attacking Cloud and Aerith!"

"I thought you didn't like that Aerith girl," Zack's father says, a hint of a smirk on his face.

Zack sits up and crosses his arms, his seven year old face scowling at his father. "You always said it was wrong to pick on a girl."

Zack's father laughs. "You're right, Zack." He sees a little of Zack in himself, always being honorable and fiercely loyal to his friends. "I'm cutting your grounding short. Your mother convinced me."

Zack's scowl turns into a full fledged grin. He pushes himself off the bed and bounds into his father, wrapping his arms around his neck and leaping up. His father staggers slightly under the weight before steadying himself. "Don't you have some friends to go play with?" He asks, smiling at his son.

"Yup! I bet they're at Cloud's house!" Zack leaps out of his father's arms and rushes out of his bedroom, and in mere moments the door slams shut. Mr. Fair shakes his head, his own unruly black hair swaying along with the movement. He knows Ms. Strife may not be the most well respected lady in town, but she seems nice enough, and he isn't the type to break up his son's friendships. It's his life, and Mr. Fair doesn't see the need to control it.

----

Zack barrels into Cloud, knocking him into the ground and sending the make-shift sword sprawling. He is out of breath, but somehow he manages to leap to his feet and talk while acting everything out with exaggerated movements. "My dad ungrounded me early because he said that it was good that I defended my friends and I helped Aerith because she's a girl and guys shouldn't pick on girls because it's wrong and it's honorable to protect them so I came over here to play with you guys and hi Aerith."

Aerith smiles at him, glad that he acknowledges her presence without being upset by it. She sticks out her two hands that hold the flower necklace, and Zack stares at it. "It's for you," she says, frowning slightly.

"They're flowers," he replies, not moving at all, his eyes still focused on the petals of each individual flower.

"I made you the necklace, as a thank you."

"They're _flowers_," he says again, emphasizing the word "flowers" as if it would make Aerith understand.

"They're a gift," Aerith says evenly. She is getting impatient, and her changing opinion about Zack is beginning to revert back to her first impression of him.

"They're _flowers_."

Aerith says nothing, and waits for a moment until she sees that Zack is so focused on the flowers he isn't paying attention to anything else. She takes this opportunity and covers the few steps it takes to get as close as she can to him and she pulls the necklace down over his head.

He is stunned, and does nothing for a few seconds, but then he flails his arms around. "Get off me! Get 'em off me!" Aerith stands there with a satisfied smile, her hands clasped behind her back. Cloud is howling with laughter, rolling around on the grass.

Zack eventually stops and gives up. Although he would never admit it, he didn't want to break the necklace he received. He sits down next to Cloud and scratches his head. "So whaddya guys wanna do?"

Cloud rolls over onto his stomach and props his head up with his elbows, cradling his chin in his hands. He stares at Zack for a moment before his eyes light up. "I know! We can play war, and Aerith can be the princess!"

Aerith wants to protest, but Zack is already excited. "All right!"

Cloud then presents the sword to Zack, who takes it and stares at it, but instead of scrutinizing it like he did with the flowers, he is staring at it in awe. "Do I get to use this?"

Cloud nods excitedly. "I made it for ya!"

Zack swings it a few times, and he looks like a knight, although little shorter, a little clumsier, and without all the armor. It doesn't matter. To him, the sword is effective. He leaps up and brings the sword down towards the ground, letting out a excited yell as he does so.

He grins up at the other two, and while Cloud gives him a toothy grin that only a five year old can pull off, Aerith smiles and thinks to herself that maybe this friendship between the three of them can work out.

She is pulled from her thoughts when Zack dashes past her. Stumbles slightly to the right, and then is pushed to the right as Cloud runs by. Dust is kicked up and she coughs, but she put on a real smile and follows nonetheless.

--

**There ya go! I hope you liked it! Their friendship grows a little, as it will much more as the story gets going. **

**They're still young, but next chapter will fast forward 2 years :)**

**Thanks for reading (and maybe reviewing)!**

**-The Lone Wanderer**


	3. First Love?

**Okay, I'm on a roll! Three new chapters for three different stories in three days! High five! Maybe I'll go for five and update Yesterday, Again and Breakeven (a twoshot). Yea, like that'll happen by Saturday XD Who knows though!**

**Sorry this took so long to write. My mom injured herself (she's fine now), and then I had to go out of town for two weeks, so I haven't had time. **

**I know I said only Sundays, but I felt bad so I updated this in the middle of the week. I hope all my readers haven't left me! (It seems like they have in my other stories, but I can't blame them, I'm a horrible updater).**

**I hope you enjoy it!**

**I don't own FFVII**

**--  
**

When Zack was nine, Aerith eight, and Cloud the same age Zack was two years ago, the three had lunch at Aerith's house. Elmyra promised them the best peanut butter and jelly sandwiches imaginable.

Zack is ecstatic about it. He tries to make his own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but they always end up being a cluster – insert –word – Zack – learned – from – his – father – when – he – made – him – mad – here. They continue to be his favorite food though, and you can win him over anytime with the promise of a PB&J and a tall glass of milk.

Aerith doesn't mind peanut butter and jelly together, but she prefers peanut butter and banana. She doesn't know why, but the creamy peanut butter and the fruity banana go well together on fresh white bread. Zack makes fun of her for it, telling her that she is abandoning the human race's oldest match made in Heaven, but it's nowhere near the torment Cloud receives when he tells Zack his secret.

Cloud knows what jelly tastes like, he's had plenty of jelly sandwiches before, but he is ignorant to the taste of peanut butter mixed with jelly in between two slices of bread. Aerith is a little surprised (if Zack is so obsessed with PB&J's, how come he hasn't introduced his best friend?), and Zack calls him a social pariah. Aerith doesn't ask where he learned that word from. Cloud tries to stay defiant and claims he doesn't like the taste of peanut butter, but this just sends Zack into a fit of giggles.

"You can't _not _like peanut butter," Zack scoffs, giving Cloud a headlock and a noogie, laughing like a maniac as the blond squirmed beneath him.

Aerith scolds him, and he lets go, laughing some more when Cloud shoves him. Aerith shakes her head, knowing boys will be boys. She is currently sitting on a chair that is pushed up against the dining room table in the Gainsborough house, and her braids (she lost the pig tails a year ago), wave from side to side as she wiggles her feet. She still isn't tall enough to touch the ground.

The only one who _can _brag about touching the ground when he sits at the table is Zack, but he still has to lean forward and even then only the tips of his feet graze the hardwood floor.

"All right boys, sit down, or you won't get your sandwiches," Elmyra announces as she waltzes into the dining room, balancing a plate of sandwiches on one hand and holding a pitcher of lemonade in the other.

Zack is in his chair before Elmyra finishes speaking, and Cloud is in his soon after, but it is noticeable that he is not as crazy about these sandwiches as Zack.

Cloud manages to sit still calmly, patiently waiting for his sandwich to be placed in front of him. Zack is the opposite, the palms of his hands slapping against the wooden table in a quick rhythm.

Zack's antics make Elmyra chuckle, and she makes sure to give him a sandwich first. "Now, it's grape jelly," she tells him, as if it will make a difference. Zack wolfs it down and is on the second half before Elmyra can get to anyone else.

"Stop being such a pig Zack," Cloud says to his friend.

"_You _shtahp bein' 'uch a pig," Zack shoots back, grinning at Cloud, sending small pieces of bread and peanut butter spilling down his chin.

"Thank you," Aerith says to her mom, making sure she is polite. She delicately picks up the first triangle half of the sandwich, and puts it in her mouth, chewing slowly and deliberately.

"Fanks!" Zack shouts as he crams the other half of the sandwich into his mouth.

Finally, a sandwich is placed in front of Cloud. He stares at it, and wrinkles his nose when he sees where the peanut butter and jelly meet, creating a muck that he dubs "peanut belly".

He looks around and sees Zack grabbing another sandwich, and Aerith who is still eating her first one. They both seem to be enjoying them, so Cloud shrugs and picks it up to take a bite.

At first Cloud is disgusted by the flavor. How could Zack be attracted to such an abomination? But then the flavor hits, and Cloud is in Heaven. Zack was right. Peanut butter and jelly _is _the best thing in the world, and Cloud wonders why his mother never introduced him to this deliciousness before.

He takes another bite, and then another, and soon he is almost as bad as Zack. He reaches for a second sandwich, and that's when he begins to cough. He hears a faint buzzing in his ears, and he hears Zack shout, "He's choking!"

There is a clanging of chairs and Zack jumps out of his, and rushes over to Cloud, pulling him out of his. Zack wraps his arms around Cloud's stomach and pulls, remembering this maneuver he thinks is the "Hemlock" from his teacher. Cloud heaves, but nothing comes out.

Aerith has already left the room to go find her mom, and Zack keeps pulling. Cloud keeps heaving but still nothing comes out. Eventually, Cloud collapses in Zack's arms, and Zack screams, "He's dead!"

Elmyra comes rushing in and takes Cloud away from Zack. "I called the doctor. He'll be here in a second." She drapes a wet wash cloth over Cloud's forehead, and the three of them wait.

Although it was only a matter of minutes, Zack is already antsy and is bouncing off the walls by the time the doctor arrives.

Zack and Aerith are shooed out of the room, and they find themselves in Aerith's room, the same room the two have been in hundreds of times before, but now, Zack finally notices something.

"Your room's pink," he announces, as if it was newly painted.

"Yep," Aerith replies, jumping up on her bed to grab her pillow. "Do you think Cloud'll be all right?" she asks, keeping her pillow between her arms in a death grip.

"Of course," Zack says as he climbs up to sit next to her. "Why wouldn't he be?" Despite freaking out earlier, Zack knows right now, between himself and Aerith, he is older and needs to stay calm and collected, in case Aerith decides to have a breakdown.

"Well, he looked bad . . ." Aerith says, and her voice trails off.

"Don't worry," Zack tries to reassure her, "he'll be okay. He _has _to be okay. We're a trio. We wouldn't be complete without him, right?"

Aerith looks at Zack, really looks at him, straight into his amethyst eyes, and she can't help but smile when he smiles at her. "Yes. You're right."

"Always am," he jokes, and Aerith shoves him. Despite the cockiness in his words, Aerith is thankful Zack can joke and stay in a good mood in such a serious situation.

--

Cloud is okay, but the Zack and Aerith find out a startling realization about him: He's allergic to peanuts.

Once the whole Cloud almost dying is all said and done, Zack jokes with him, telling him how poor his life is going to be because he can't eat "the food of the Gods".

Aerith is more supportive and careful around Cloud, and Cloud is thankful for it. However, he is also thankful for the mocking Zack gives him. He appreciates that Aerith is being careful and treating Cloud special, but he also appreciates the way Zack doesn't treat him special because of it.

His two best friends balance each other out and create a happy medium together.

Nothing changes, except now everyone makes sure not to have anything peanut related close to Cloud.

--

When Zack is fourteen, he gets his first girlfriend. Her name is Cissnei, and she is considered to be one of the prettiest girls in school, with wavy auburn hair that cascades down to her shoulders, and then some.

Zack is unsure how the relationship began, except that it involved crashing into her at lunch. He remembers carrying his lunch bag and tripping, and then sending a tray into a girl, Cissnei's, face. She told him he could repay her with one date, and he agreed.

It had been hard to balance his time between Cissnei and Cloud and Aerith, but he managed it, even if sometimes he was late to Cissnei's house because he had to help Aerith do some homework for school, or maybe help Cloud weed in his mother's garden.

In fact, before Cissnei, Zack had multiple propositions of being a "boyfriend", he just never knew why. Unbeknownst to Zack, he had become quite the looker. His violet eyes were dreamy to the girls in his class, and his spiky black hair gave him a rebellious edge, even though he was one of the best students in the class.

Aerith found the whole thing laughable, and she and Cloud would spend time making fun of each girl who presented herself to Zack. The two compared it to "Cinderella", except instead of the prince (Zack), looking for a girl, it was the girls looking for a prince.

Cloud was no longer bullied, even if he was the youngest one in his grade. Being friends with Zack had made him off limits, because now that Zack was almost fully grown and standing broadly at 5'9, most didn't want to mess with him. And he made it quite clear (though it did earn him detention for a week), that if you mess with Cloud, you mess with Zack.

But this is all back story. At the moment, Zack was sitting on a bench in the park with Cissnei, who was slurping on a smoothie he had bought for her. He was watching other kids play in the park, and watched other couples sitting on other benches, kissing each other or cuddling. He and Cissnei had kissed before, but it didn't feel like he was expecting it to. Sure, his hormones loved it, and it felt good, but it was missing something. The "X-Factor" Zack couldn't quite name.

"Why do you try and hurt me?" Cissnei asks him suddenly as she draws her mouth away from her milkshake.

Zack's head whips around and he stares, wide-eyed, at her. "What do you mean "try and hurt you"? When have I hurt you?"

Cissnei's lips turn into a pout and she says, "You always hang out with that Aerith girl, and it cuts into my time with you."

Zack's eyes get even wider, and he splutters, "Aerith is one of my _best _friends, Cissnei. She's not a girlfriend. Sometimes she needs help with homework, and I help. Or maybe she needs help with her flowers, I help. How come you're not concerned with me and Cloud?"

"Because Aerith's a girl!" Cissnei exclaims, as if it's obvious. It's not obvious to Zack though, who is too naïve to know what the implicatiosn of him spending so much time with Aerith are.

"She's my _best friend_!"

Now they are causing a scene, but people do their best to ignore them. It's just a petty argument between two teenagers, anyway.

"You have to stop hanging out with her."

Zack rolls his eyes. Cissnei was beginning to annoy him. "I don't _have _to do anything."

"If you don't, this relationship will be over."

Zack ends up sitting alone on the bench, his hair drenched in pink smoothie. As a droplet dripps down his cheek, he manages to catch it in his tongue, and smiles. Strawberry – banana, his favorite.

Although dumbfounded, Zack isn't hurt, and more annoyed at how _stupid _girls could be. He made a mental note to tell Aerith that he'd hit her if she ever went crazy like Cissnei did just then.

--

**Cissnei will probably be back, but I just wanted to throw that part in. So now Zack is 14, Aerith is 13, and Cloud is 12. Expect next chapter to revolve more around Cloud and Aerith (because this one was mainly Zack, though I hope you don't mind!)**

**I hope the time change in the middle of the chapter was too confusing.**

**Review?**

**-The Lone Wanderer  
**


	4. Midsummer's Preparation

**/groan**

**I'm sorry this took so long. This is what happens when I get tremendous writer's block and put off your summer homework until the last week.**

**This chapter is short, so I'm sorry, but good news is I'm working on the next chapter of "Take a Bow".**

**Thank you everyone who reviewed!**

**I don't own FFVII.**

**Content-wise, I'm satisfied with this chapter, but I don't think the writing is that great, so I apologize. 'Tis what happens when I force out a chapter : /**

**P.S. : Posted a new poll on my profile, please check it out and vote!  
**

--

Cloud sits on the edge of Aerith's bed, staring at the plastic eyes of one of her teddy bears. She is fifteen, but she still keeps her multiple stuffed animals up on her bed with her. Cloud doesn't understand it, but he decides it is probably easier to just not ask.

"Is Zack dating Cissnei again?" Aerith asks as she sits down next to Cloud, pinching the teddy bear Cloud is holding as she does so.

"He didn't tell you?" Cloud replies as he hands her the teddy bear so he can lay back. He sighs as his head hits the soft blanket that covers Aerith's mattress. He and Aerith have had discussions about Zack and Cissnei before, and none of them ended on a good note.

Zack and Cissnei have had an on and off relationship ever since the first time they broke up when Zack was fourteen. About a month later, Cissnei apologized to him and told him she had matured. Zack, being nothing more than a hormone, instantly took her back. They were always on rocky ground, never seeing eye to eye on things. Mainly Zack's friendship with Aerith. But he was adamant about not changing that.

Cloud and Aerith don't agree on Zack's dating habits either. Aerith thinks Zack should end it for good, because it's been nothing but a thorn in their friendship's side. Cloud, always on Zack's side, because not only are they best friends, but being two years younger than the raven haired teen, Cloud can't help but look up to Zack.

"No," Aerith sighs as she lays back too, setting her teddy bear aside. "We haven't spoken much after our last argument."

A week ago, Aerith confronted Zack about Cissnei. He was dumbfounded by the whole incident and kept trying to talk to Aerith, but she never returned his calls and spent more of her time with Cloud than the three of them.

Cloud tilts his head to face her and smirks, "That's your fault."

Aerith scowls at him. "Don't remind me."

Cloud's smirk turns into a grin as he stares at her and realizes something. "You like him!" He sits up instantly and laughs.

"No I don't! I've just known him for so long, he's like a brother to me. Trust me Cloud, if you had the same habits of Zack, I'd yell at you too."

"All right," Cloud says, and he lies back down, and yawns.

"Tired?" Aerith asks.

"No," Cloud replies, but his shut eyes and slow breathing tells her otherwise. She laughs as she grabs one of Cloud's arms and wraps it around her shoulders. She snuggles next to him and lets out a small yawn herself.

Most girls would be nervous about lying with a boy with their bedroom door wide open, just asking for their mother to come in. Not Aerith. Taking a nap with Zack, or now mainly Cloud, is a common occurrence, and Elmyra has come to not care.

--

Zack rushes into Aerith's bedroom, waking Cloud and Aerith up instantly.

"Woah," he says, "Am I interrupting something?" He's wearing a wide grin, but Cloud blushes profusely when he sees what Aerith has done with his arm.

"What do you want Zack?" Aerith asks, her voice slightly cold. In her mind she regrets sounding nasty, but she can't help it.

"Midsummer's Night Ball is this Friday. You guys going?"

Normally Zack would hop on the bed and join Cloud and Aerith, but after hearing her icy tone he opts to lean against the wall.

Cloud yawns and stretches as he sits up. His blush is still present, but it isn't as apparent. "Probably not."

"Come on! You should ask that new chick who just moved in. Tifa, her name is, right?" Zack says excitedly.

Cloud's blush returns full force as he mutters, "Like she'd say yes."

"You should ask her, Cloud," Aerith encourages him.

"Yea," Zack throws in. It's the first time they've agreed on something since their argument.

"Then who will you go with?" Cloud asks, raising an eyebrow at Aerith.

"I haven't been asked. I have an excuse."

Zack lets loose an uncharacteristic cough, but doesn't say anything, so Aerith and Cloud ignore it.

Cloud sighs in exasperation. "You guys aren't going to leave me alone until I ask Tifa are you?"

"Nope," Zack says with a grin.

--

"Willyougowithmetotheball?" Cloud blurts out, looking at Tifa with wide eyes.

She frowns at him. "What did you say?"

He takes a deep breath, doing his best to mentally calm himself, before speaking again. "Would you like to go with me to the Midsummer's Night Ball?" He instinctively shut his eyes, bracing himself for the inevitable 'no'.

Tifa's eyes shimmer as the corners of her mouth turn up in a small smile. "Why not?"

It's a better answer than Cloud hoped for.

--

"I made you a dress honey," Elmyra says as she pokes her head into her daughter's room. Aerith is lying on the bed by herself, reading a book.

"I'm not going to the dance," Aerith said without glancing away from her book. She turns the page, and sighs when she still senses her mother's presence. Truthfully, she wants to go to the dance, but it's mainly a couples dance, and she doesn't want to feel left out by going alone.

"You're going to the ball. I made you a dress." Her mother's voice is still sweet but now there is an authoritative undertone.

"Go alone? I don't think so mom," Aerith sighs again flips over on her stomach, tossing her book to the side.

As soon as the book bounces once on the mattress, the doorbell rings.

"You can get that," Elmyra says with finality, an air of mystery surrounding her words.

Aerith groans as she pushes herself up from her bed. Her hair is tangled but she doesn't care. Her baggy pajama pants hang loosely around her legs, but again, it's a night in, it doesn't matter.

She stands at the door, debating on whether or not to open it. She would rather not deal with anyone, but she fears her mother's wrath if she doesn't.

Aerith opens her front door, and gasps when she sees Zack standing, or rather, leaning on one of the pillars on her porch, in the same position that she first saw him in on the first day of Kindergarten ten years ago.

He is wearing a red dress shirt with a loose black tie hanging around his neck. His sleeves are rolled up and the shirt is half tucked into his black dress pants. It's clear that he attempted to dress up, but got uncomfortable and gave up.

"Put on that dress your mom made you," Zack says. "You're going to the ball with me."

Aerith stands in shock, her hand still gripping the doorknob, knuckles white.

Zack lets out a long laugh that only Zack can pull off. "I'll wait. Go take a shower."

"What happened between you and Cissnei?" Aerith can't help but blurt out. She braces herself for another argument with Zack, but to her happiness he waves a hand at her as he begins to speak.

"After our last 'discussion', I thought about what you said. I ended it," Zack smirks, "for good."

"What about Cloud?" Aerith asks.

Zack grins. "He was worried about you too, but he asked Tifa, and just like I predicted, she said yes." Zack steps inside and grabs Aerith's shoulders, spinning her around and pushing her back towards her bedroom. "Now go get a shower and put on your dress, your mom was proud of what she managed to pull off."

Aerith stumbles when Zack pushes her, but she smiles, glad that her friendship with Zack is repaired, and glad for another reason she can't quite place, but she's still glad nonetheless.

--

**Well there's a little Cloud/Aerith in there like I promised, but then I couldn't help but throw in some Zack/Aerith and mild mild Zack/Cissnei.**

**I just totally saw Zack as the friend who would be the knight in shining armor who would come and take his best friend to the dance when she didn't have a date.**

**Review? (If you all don't hate me XD )**

**-The Lone Wanderer  
**


	5. Something Unexpected

**Well, here's Chapter 5. I got sudden inspiration for this, and it took a turn I was not expecting it to take. I hope you guys still like it, but even if you don't, STICK WITH IT, PLEASE. Trust me, there's much more to come :)**

**Thank you everyone who reviewed, I'm replying to them now :D**

**I don't own FFVII  
**

--

"Wow. Aerith you look . . ." Zack struggles to pick the right word here, "amazing."

And she does look amazing. Her usual braids are pulled up into a tight bun in the back of her head, leaving a few curls dangling around her cheeks. Her face is free of smudges and dirt from her gardening, and Zack is amazed by how smooth her skin looks. She's wearing one of her mother's antique necklaces, and it sparkles magnificently, complementing her red dress. It's form fitting and although Aerith doesn't have the curviest body, it fits well and looks great. She's wearing simple black heels that propel the top of her head to the middle of Zack's neck, rather than his shoulders.

She isn't paying attention for a single moment, and in that instant her lack of training with heels becomes apparent. She trips on the stairs, and she begins to fall. Zack is there to catch her though, and he wraps an arm around her waist to steady her as he picks her back up easily. Aerith's hand is latched onto his right arm, and she can feel his bicep through his dress shirt. It's clear he's worked out since the last time they've had such close contact.

Aerith smiles at him, and makes a joke, trying to cover up her embarassment. "You'd look nice too, if you'd tidy yourself up."

Zack chuckles as he begins to tuck his shirt in, turning to face a mirror in the foyer. "All right, fine. I'll straighten the tie, tuck in the shirt. But," he says as he spins around to face her, "the sleeves stay rolled up. Otherwise, it gets _way_ too hot." He wags a finger in her face as he speaks.

Aerith pushes his hand away, mockingly scolding him, "It's rude to get into a lady's face you know."

Zack brings his hands up near his face, open palm, signaling surrender. "Fine. If your gonna be picky, go to the date yourself."

"Maybe I will," Aerith says, and she's half-serious, beginning to walk out the door. She wants to see what Zack will do.

"I was kidding," Zack says quickly, grabbing a hold of her hand to keep her from walking out on him. He opens the door for her then, stating "Ladies first," before following her outside.

From there, they walk to the dance, and although Zack clearly isn't paying attention to it, Aerith notices his hand never lets go of her's.

–

"Well, this is nice," Tifa says awkwardly as she smooths down her dress for the hundredth time that night.

Ever since she and Cloud had gotten to the dance they had sat down at a table, and Cloud had spoken four words to her since then: "Give me a minute."

And so she waited. She was asked multiple times to dance by single times, and every time she almost said yes, and then she looked over at Cloud, and his dejected look always made her say no.

So here she sits, smoothing her dress out _again_ hoping that Cloud will ask her to dance sometime soon.

"You two look like you're having fun." Tifa looks up and sees Zack and Aerith approaching, hands intertwined. They finally let go of one another once they reach the table, and Zack instantly wraps his arms around Cloud's neck and gives him a vicious noogie. "Have you guys danced yet?"

Cloud glares at Zack, and the raven haired teen instantly shuts up. Aerith makes eye contact with Tifa and mouths "He gets nervous."

"All righty then," Zack says before turning to Tifa and bowing slightly, extending his hand, "may I have a dance?"

"Isn't Aerith your date?" Tifa asks.

Both Aerith and Zack blush but reply instantly, "We just came as friends."

Tifa laughs, steals a glance at Cloud, who's eyes just say '_well, if you must'_, then places her hand in Zack's. "Why not?"

Cloud continues to glare at Zack as the two of them walk away, and Aerith notices. She sits down next to him and lightly places a hand on her arm. "He's just trying to show her a good time."

"I was going to ask her to dance," Cloud says quietly as he looks up at Aerith. She just raises an eyebrow at him in disbelief. "I just get nervous! She's not as easy to talk to as you."

Aerith giggles at him, then says, "Then would you like to dance?"

Cloud crosses his arms and smirks slightly, "Isn't it the boys job to ask?"

Aerith hits him slightly, laughing. "Well I didn't know . . . because with Tifa and all . . ." she trails off, and Cloud interrupts her.

"Yea Aerith. I'll dance." Aerith grins at him as she grabs his hand, almost dragging him onto the dance floor.

–

Tifa enjoys dancing with Zack. He's into it, he talks to her, he doesn't try and grope her like most other guys, and she has to admit, he's not that bad.

Zack's hands are placed on her waist, and Tifa has her arms wrapped around his neck.

"Enjoying the dance?" he asks, waggling his eyebrows at her.

Tifa laughs. She nods. It's hard _not _to have fun when you're around Zack, and Tifa is no exception.

"Feel kind of bad for Cloud though . . . but hey, there was a beautiful girl with a date who refused to dance with her."

"Sounds like you're talking Cloud down," Tifa says, a mischievous glint in her eye.

Zack knows he's treading a dangerous line now, and he stutters as he tries to say the right thing. "Um, no, of course not. Cloud's my best friend. And he really likes you." Zack mentally facepalms as soon as he speaks. That was the one thing Cloud told Zack _never_ to tell anyone. "Uh . . . forget I said anything."

Tifa raises an eyebrow. It makes Zack's stomach do flip flops, and he's at a loss for words. "Forget you said anything?" She asks.

"Yeah . . ." Zack says awkwardly. Suddenly his hands start to feel wrong placed on Tifa's hips, and his tie feels too tight. Tighter than it was when he was walking to the dance with Aerith, and he hasn't touched it since leaving her house.

"What about Aerith?"

"We're just friends," Zack replies quickly, and gulps. They are _just _friends, but Zack isn't sure if it was the right thing to say.

"Well, that's good to know," Tifa says with a smile. The song chooses to end then, and Zack is thankful.

He chuckles, and it comes out forced. "Come on Teef, we better get you back to your date."

"Yeah . . . _my _date."

–

"You're not as bad as you make yourself out to be," Aerith informs Cloud as they dance. She's lying. Cloud isn't focused on their dance. Every few seconds he steals a glance at Zack and Tifa, and every few seconds he steps on her feet. She's sure they're going to hurt in the morning.

She pulls back one of her arms from around Cloud's neck, and cups his cheek in her hand, directing his face to look at hers. "Cloud, focus. Zack isn't going to steal Tifa from you. He's your best friend."

Cloud sighs as he stares into her emerald eyes. "I know he won't take her _intentionally_. But what if he does it unintentionally? I mean . . . Aerith, does a girl _not_ like Zack?"

"Cloud, stop it. You're just as good as Zack. You're just different. Quit being so hard on yourself," Aerith orders, but Cloud's downward lips down move at all. "You're intelligent and cute Cloud. I don't know why you feel like you'll have troubles getting any girl to like you."

"I'm not confident like Zack. He wasn't bullied all growing up. He was the one sticking up for me, getting the bullies to fear him. He's _powerful_ in this town Aerith, and he doesn't even realize it. Adults love him, kids want to be friends with him. I'm just there. His right hand man. I get called 'Mini-Zack',"

Cloud's breathing gets faster as he speaks, and Aerith can tell he's getting upset.

She gently starts to rub his cheek with her thumb. "Well then Cloud, those people are stupid. Yes, Zack's great. But you're great too, in your own way. If other people can't see that, it's their fault."

Suddenly, Cloud's dry lips are touching Aerith's and her eyes widen in surprise. She closes them though after the initial shock that Cloud is kissing her goes away. She removes her hand from his cheek and wraps her arm back around his neck. It's her first kiss, and she hopes she isn't too bad, but then she remembers it's Cloud's first kiss too. Zack was the only one out of them who had kissed someone before.

The kiss feels _right_, and it feels good, and their lips just mesh well, but there's still something off. It feels like someone's watching the two of them. And someone is watching them. Two someones, actually.

When they pull away, Zack and Tifa are standing there, Tifa looking surprised but not upset, and Aerith is thankful for that. Zack's expression though, is heartwrenching. Well, it's really the _lack _of expression. His face is just devoid of any emotion. It's so _un_-Zack that Aerith's smile instantly turns into a frown. She glances at Cloud and sees that he's the same way.

"Well, if tonight's the night to share secrets, I guess now's a good time to tell you I'm joining SOLDIER in the fall."

The group dynamic between the three of them is never the same after the night of the Midsummer's Night Ball.

--

**I know some of you are probably RAGING, but remember: STICK WITH IT. You will not be dissapointed :D**

**Please review, I'm really curious to see what you guys thought of this "plot twist" (may not be a twist if you thought it would happen).**

**Thanks!**

**-The Lone Wanderer  
**


	6. Defying Gravity

**No, I'm not dead. I just haven't been feeling Final Fantasy lately.**

**After seeing the FFXIII NA announcement trailer, I'm back though. :3**

**I'll reply to the reviews you guys left for chapter 5 tomorrow, I'm exhausted XD**

**Leave a review?**

**Also, if you guys stuck with this, I love you!**

**I don't own FFVII.**

--

Cloud walks Aerith home from the dance, as Zack leaves soon after without an explanation, and Tifa apologizes to the new couple, but joins their raven-haired friend.

As they approach her porch, Cloud feels his hands start to get sweaty, and he wipes them on his pants, hoping the excessive contact between the rough fabric and his palms isn't _that_ noticeable to Aerith.

As she places a hand on her doorknob, she turns to face Cloud. "Where does this leave us?" She asks, biting her lower lip in thought. Cloud has the sudden urge to kiss those lips again, but he refrains, and wipes his hands on his pants again.

"I . . . don't know Aerith. I mean, I'd _like _us to be something more, but I don't want to hurt Zack's feelings . . ." Cloud trails off, and suddenly the train that controls his thoughts shoots off as Aerith gives him a peck on the lips. He feels like he's defying gravity.

"I think Zack will be more than happy for us once the . . . shock of it wears off. He's always supported us in anything that either of us has chosen to do, right?"

Cloud sighs as Aerith clasps her hands in front of her, waiting for an answer. "Yea. You're right Aerith. He just wants us to be happy right? Besides, he's leaving in the fall."

Aerith's eyes lose their glint of happiness when Cloud mentions Zack leaving for SOLDIER. "I don't know why he didn't tell us . . ."

Cloud shrugs, biting his tongue. He really _doesn't _know why Zack hadn't told either of them. He was usually the one telling the two of them everything that was going on in his life. Lately, Zack's just been a little off of his normal self.

When Cloud notices Aerith's hurt expression, he grasps her tiny hand in his larger ones. Despite being a year younger, and small for his age compared to the other boys, Cloud still managed to be bigger than Aerith. "Don't worry, it'll be okay."

Aerith forces a smile as she makes eye contact with him. "I hope so. I really hope so."

--

Zack insists on walking Tifa home, even though they have to pass his house to get to her own. Zack's not entirely romantic about it, and Tifa doesn't mind, but it's nice to know that someone cares about her well-being.

When they pass Zack's house, and Zack keeps walking, Tifa stops and calls out to him. "Isn't this your house?"

Zack whirls around, and his hair looks more messed up than it did a few minutes ago, and his eyes look a little more wild. It's not animalistic though, it's just a stark contrast to the dead Zack that left the dance. "Yea, but it's not yours."

Tifa pulls off her heels to catch up to the older teen as she laughs. "I don't need an escort home, Zack." She then places a light hand on his bicep. She can feel the muscle underneath. Then, sincerely, she adds, "Thank you, though."

Zack shrugs out of her grasp and jams his hands into his pockets. "Never said you needed an escort, but I need some fresh air."

Tifa doesn't bother to point out they've been outside all night, and instead chooses to walk next to him, taking three steps for each of his one.

When they reach Tifa's house, he follows her up the front walk and onto her porch. "Sorry I've been difficult all night, Tifa. Thanks for putting up with it."

Tifa turns around and stares at him, and can't help herself when she gets on her tip-toes and kiss him. It's hard for any girl not to. Especially with his violet eyes so icy right now . . . there's something about that that just calls to Tifa.

She pulls away rather quickly when she realizes Zack isn't kissing back. When she looks at him again, embarrassed, his facial expression is one of sadness. Tifa knows she isn't the girl Zack wants to be kissing.

She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, and gives him a rueful smile. "It hurts, doesn't it?"

"I'm sorry, Tifa."

Zack then slowly turns around and walks down her front yard, and it hurts Tifa just to see him walk, his pain a cloud that hovered over everyone, and everything around him. Despite only living her for a short time, she knows what the real Zack is like. And not seeing the real Zack, the Zack that does everything short of defying gravity, it hurts.

Because although Zack doesn't realize it, his emotions are contagious to everyone around him. The way he is, people just can't help but feel what he feels. And when he hurts, people around him hurt, whether they know it or not.

--

Aerith doesn't see Zack for three days, so she decides to go visit him. She wants an explanation for his decision of joining SOLDIER. Zack's father quickly sends her upstairs, and is more than happy to see her.

She knocks on the door his room. When she hears a grunt of acknowledgement, she opens it and steps inside.

Zack is wearing gym shorts and no shirt, and Aerith eye's are instantly drawn to his stomach as he finishes his set of sit-ups.

Aerith has seen Zack without a shirt off on multiple occasions, and before it's never affected her, but now it does. Maybe it was because of the dance, or maybe it was because Zack has never been _this _in shape before.

He leaps upwards as he finishes and grabs a towel to wipe the sweat off his face. "What's up?" He asks, his voice cheery as he passes her and stands underneath his doorway. Without waiting for a response he jumps up and grabs onto the newly installed pull-up bar and begins to lift.

Aerith completely forgets what she came to talk about. Stumbling quite a bit, she manages to get out, "I haven't seen you since the dance, how are you?"

In between breaths, he replies. "I'm . . . good . . . never . . . better . . . you?" He lets out a loud exhale each time he pulls up, and Aerith has to sit on his bed when she sees the way his muscles flex.

"Fine," she says, smoothing the dress she's wearing subconsciously. She smacks the bed as she remembers why she came. "Why are you joining SOLDIER?"

Zack drops down and grins at her, cracking his neck. "Figured it'd be fun. It's basically the military, but the best of the best. Angeal is a General there! I'm also the first person from Gongaga to do it. I'm basically defying gravity!"

Angeal has been Zack's childhood hero ever since Zack watched the news about the war in Wutai. Strong, tall, and stoic, he was a role-model for young boys, and an item of lust for the girls.

"You could get killed!" Aerith suddenly cries out, and Zack sticks a finger in his ear and starts digging it around, mocking her for the volume with which she spoke.

"Come on," Zack jokes, flexing his biceps, "you really think someone could take this down?" When Aerith just stares at him, he takes her response negatively and grabs a shirt to put on. "I was only kidding. Besides, you and Cloud are together now, I don't wanna be the awkward third wheel."

Aerith grabs him and pulls him onto the bed abruptly, and he gives her a lopsided grin as he crashes down next to her. "What is with you?" she asks. "At the dance you couldn't stand to see Cloud and I kissing. Now you're _joking_ about us being together?"

Zack leans back and lies down on his bed, sticking his hands behind his head. "Look Aerith, I just want you to be happy. I've already has this discussion with Cloud the day after the dance."

"I know you Zack. You're not happy. You're faking it."

Zack scoffs as he brushes her off. "That's a little cocky, isn't it Aerith? Assuming that I can't _stand _to see you and Cloud together?" He leans closer until their noses are touching. She can feel his warm breath on her lips. "Are you implying I want to be with you?"

"I'm just implying that . . ." Aerith can't remember what she wants to say and she goes off into a series of mumbles.

Zack places two strong hands, hands that are noticeably stronger than Cloud's, on her shoulders, and he pulls back slightly to rest his forehead on her's. "Look, Aerith, I'm your _best _friend. Cloud is your _boy_friend. I'm fine with that. Just . . . don't tell me when you two do the nasty. Because that is _nasty_."

Aerith can't help but burst into giggles and she falls forward, almost tipping off the bed. Zack quickly grabs her and pulls her into his arms, and she wraps her arms around him, feeling his strong muscles. She can't remember the last time she's been this happy since she and Zack fought about Cissnei.

--

It's two weeks later, and Cloud and Zack are in downtown Gongaga, where only a few decrepit buildings stand, but it's sufficient for what Zack is trying to show Cloud.

Aerith offered to go, but Zack quickly explained to her that she wouldn't enjoy what he and Cloud were going to do. Cloud doesn't notice that ever since he and Aerith have been together have the three of them hung out as a group.

Cloud crosses his arms as he stands, staring at Zack. "So, what are we doing?" He's standing straighter than he used to, and there's an air of confidence that surrounds him that wasn't there before he and Aerith started dating. Sure, he was still best friends with Zack, but in the two weeks, he hadn't been picked on once, and it wasn't because Zack was there. In fact, though Cloud didn't believe it, rumor had it that Zack couldn't care less whether or not Cloud was beaten into a bloody pulp.

Zack gives him the characteristic cocky half-smirk. "Ever heard of parkour?" he asks.

Cloud shakes his head. Zack laughs and sprints forward, straight towards the building in front of him. Cloud stares at him, mouth agape, expecting Zack to just run straight into the brick. Instead, when a few feet away, Zack jumps up, places one foot onto the brick, and pushes off, propelling himself a few more feet higher and his hands grasp onto a tiny ledge that Cloud didn't see before.

Zack bobs up and down a couple times before pulling himself up onto the next tiny ledge. He does this until he gets to the top of the building. After clambering onto the roof, he turns to Cloud and shouts down to him, "Come on!"

Cloud just stands there, dumbstruck. What Zack just did seems incomprehensible. He just scaled a ten foot building by literally _running _up it.

Zack chuckles. "It's a requirement for SOLDIER." Lately, the motivation for everything Zack does is that it's a 'requirement for SOLDIER'. "It's not that hard. Just grab onto the ledges and pull yourself up."

Cloud nods and smiles at Zack. He takes a few steps back before sprinting forward. He jumps at the wall and pushes off of it, and grabs the same ledge Zack grasped onto only a few moments earlier. He grabs the next ledge, and the next, and works his way up the building, albeit at a much slower pace as Zack.

When he gets to the top, Zack grabs his wrist and hoists the blonde up. Cloud rolls on the gravel roof before sitting up.

"Now, to get to the next building," Zack says, gesturing to the building next to them. There's quite a large gap between the two buildings, but Zack seems confident.

He sprints forward again, and leaps as his feet reach the end of the rooftop. He goes sailing over the gap and as soon as his feet touch down on the next rooftop he drops down into a roll. "Remember to roll!" he calls to Cloud. "It reduces the impact."

Cloud slowly walks over to the edge and peers over. It looks a lot higher than ten feet from up here. "Come on!" Zack calls to him with an encouraging tone.

After a few minutes of contemplation, Cloud takes a chance and clears the gap, landing on the rooftop and rolling, ending up right next to Zack.

Zack offers Cloud a hand to help him up, and with a smile, says to him, "Easy, right? It's like defying gravity."

--

Aerith pulls away from the kiss and repositions herself on Cloud's lap. They're sitting on the armchair in Aerith's room, and they're lucky Elmyra trusts them enough not to come check on them.

She has a frown on her face, and it quickly brings Cloud back from the euphoria he was in. "What's wrong?" he asks, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"Zack. He's leaving in a month. We need to plan a going away party."

Cloud bites the inside of his cheek. There were two reasons he wasn't saying anything. First, he was shocked at how Aerith thought up Zack's going away party while they were kissing, and second, he really wasn't good at planning parties.

Aerith snaps her fingers as she pushes herself out of the chair. "I got it, a surprise party!"

"A surprise party?" Cloud asks incredulously.

"Well why not? He's doing the impossible. He's getting out of this backwater town to go be in the _elite_," and then, quoting him, she adds, "He's defying gravity. He deserves something big!"

Cloud crosses his arms, furrowing his brows. Aerith doesn't notices they're not furrowed in thought. "Yea. Something big."

--

**As you probably noticed, I fit "defying gravity" into each little segment. I'm going to start doing that. Make the title a phrase that I fit into every segment. It seems like something challenging and fun. Hope it worked!**

**So this chapter was mainly fluff, as will the next few chapters be. I'll admit, I like writing fluff, and it helps to develop the relationships between the three of them.**

**Review?**

**-The Lone Wanderer**


	7. Time is Running Out

**Wow, this chapter was tough to write. Probably the hardest one so far. Not in a bad way though. I just, wanted it to mesh well, and I'm not great with emotions and stuff . . . so yea . . .**

**Reviews!**

**Miss Layla: I think you'll like this chapter ;)**

**Zackfairfan: Here it is!**

**Imaginedreams22: I do very basic parkour, and the other term for it (it's actually a little different, but people confuse the two all the time) is free-running.**

**OCV: Yea, I scrapped the chapter-title thingy. It was too difficult to fit into this chapter, so I gave up XD And yea I do basic parkour. Zack bringing Cloud to SOLDIER? Honestly never crossed my mind, but I think you'll like where the story is going to go. And I got started on fixing it this chapter ;)**

**Floutistvivi: Nope, not dead :D**

**Rini Mazaki: The three **_**won't**_** get together as a couple, but in the end they'll be friends. I hope you **_**do**_** enjoy where it goes though. And thanks for the compliment on the writing :D Don't worry about OCV, it's a running gag between us, because she tortured me in **_**Tangled Web**_** with a ton of Aerith/Genesis fluff :P**

**FifthDayOfMay: Spin the bottle? That could be . . . interesting :P Hm, I like the jar idea. And yes, Zack **_**is **_**leaving, but I'll still follow his storyline in Midgar, don't worry :D**

**xGraybackx**

**Also, thanks to everyone who alerted/favorited this!**

**Enjoy!**

**--**

"Surprise!"

Zack stumbles back slightly, a large grin on his face as he closes the front door to Aerith's house. She had called him to tell him to come over to eat dinner at her house because he was leaving the next day; he didn't know it was going to be a whole surprise party.

Aerith, newly sixteen; her birthday last week, steps forward out of the crowd of people and smiles up at Zack, who seemed to have grown another inch since last month. "Do you like it?" She asks.

Cloud, who turned fifteen a few days before Aerith, steps up to join the two of them. "It was her idea . . . I didn't think you'd like a surprise party."

"Like it?" Zack looks taken aback for a moment before he laughs and grabs Cloud in a bear hug and noogies him. "I love it!"

"Get off me!" Cloud cries out, but there's no way he's getting out of Zack's grip, who is even more muscular than he was before. A month of non-stop lifting and protein shakes will do that to a guy.

Zack lets Cloud go and Cloud runs a hand through his hair, trying to tame the spikes. "Good," Aerith says, "I planned it all."

Zack pulls her into a hug and murmurs into her hair, "Thanks, Aerith."

--

Pretty soon Zack is off to greet each guest, and Tifa ends up talking to him for the majority of the night.

Cloud and Aerith, however, sit on her couch in the living room, Aerith curled up next to Cloud. "Well, this is nice," Cloud says as he pats her waist.

Aerith yawns as she snuggles closer. "Yea, it is. I'm glad Zack's happy." Sitting up suddenly, she adds, "It's going to be weird without Zack."

Cloud gives her a quick kiss before pulling away. "Don't worry, we have each other. Besides, the three of us haven't even hung out since we started dating."

A realization suddenly hits Aerith like a ton of bricks, and she opens her mouth to voice it, but an interrupting causes her to shut her mouth.

Zack bounds into the room with Tifa on his back. "Yee-haw!" He shouts before dropping her into an armchair.

Cloud looks up and chuckles at Zack's antics, while Aerith just stares at him. Zack looks at the two of them, and winks at Cloud before making eye contact with Aerith. He raises an eyebrow at her, and says, "O-kay . . . ya gotta stare at me all creepy like?"

Aerith looks away suddenly, but before she does, Tifa catches her eye. It's like telepathy, but not quite, and Tifa stands up and addresses Cloud, "Cloud, some guys got rowdy in the kitchen, can you help me clear them out?"

"Me?" Cloud asks, surprise showing across his face. Tifa nods vigorously, and Cloud shrugs before standing up, gently placing Aerith aside without disrupting her position.

Once Zack and Aerith are the only ones in the room, Zack sticks his hands in his pocket and looks at the ground. "Um, can we take a walk?"

Aerith nods, having a suspicion of where this is going but not quite sure what the final outcome will be. "Of course."

--

It is dark out, so out of habit Aerith wraps her hands around Zack's arm before realizing _why _they're on this walk in the first place, and she begins to pull away, but then she determines that it would look suspicious, so she stays where she is, her hands now feeling awkward.

They walk in silence, merely appreciating the soft sound of crickets and the warm air together, until they end up in a familiar place.

It is the playground of their Kindergarten, the place where they first met.

"Zack, what are you doing?" Aerith asks slowly, not wanting to give away that she has finally realized what is going on with him.

"Huh?" He replies, off in his own world. He quickly snaps out of it though before gesturing at the playground with a smile on his face. "This is where we first met! I thought it'd be a nice place to visit before I left y'all tomorrow."

Aerith gives him a sad smile as she sits down on a swing and gently sways back and forth. Zack stands in front of her and grabs the swing each time it reaches its peak and gives it another push. This goes on for a few minutes, before Zack moves over and sits on the swing next to hers.

"You're not okay with this, are you?" Aerith asks quietly. She knows the next few minutes will be awkward, but she knows that it has to happen.

"Not okay with what?" Zack is looking at the ground. He knows what she's talking about.

"Us."

"You and me?"

"Stop it, Zack."

Zack sighs as he runs a hand through his hair. "What do you want me to say, Aerith?"

Aerith gets up from the swing and walks over to the giant oak, sitting down underneath it. The ground is dry for once, and Aerith is thankful. A few moments later Zack sits down too.

She looks up at him, and they lock eyes, and Aerith gives him a pleading look. "Just tell me the truth."

Zack shakes his head, looking away. Aerith stares at him, waiting for a response. He finally looks back after what seems like an eternity, and then it happens so fast, Aerith doesn't know what hits her.

They're kissing, and it's gentle, but passionate. Zack wraps his hand around Aerith's waist as she reaches up to cup his face in her hands.

They don't know how much time has passed, but eventually they pull away from one another. Aerith bites her lower lip, expectantly, a flurry of emotions rushing around her head, some good, some bad.

Zack stares at her, wide-eyed, as if he can't belief they just kissed.

"Shit," he mutters before standing up quickly, rustling the leaves on the ground and disturbing the grass. He starts walking away then, in brisk strides that Aerith knows, even with running, she will not be able to keep up with.

--

**There ya go. A little cliffhanger ;P**

**Thoughts/comments/concerns? Are you guys enraged at me? Theories on what's gonna happen next? I love to hear any ideas!**

**-The Lone Wanderer**


	8. Author's Note There is some GOOD news!

**Hey all,**

**I've got some good news, and some bad news.**

**I'll go with the bad news first.**

**Basically, I'm at a time in my life where I gotta stop writing Fanfiction. I'm about to go into the summer of my senior year, and it'll be spent going on college visits and prepping and whatnot.**

**That's why I haven't been updating. I've been swamped with school, and with the ACT and SAT, so that's what I've been doing.**

**Good news though:**

**I'm posting this note because the FF user Extra Lives sent me a message asking if I was going to continue any of my stories. I told him that I wouldn't be able to, and he asked me if I would allow him to continue/work on them (Can't Stop the World and Take a Bow were his interests).**

**I checked out his work to make sure he was _terrible_, and he's actually really good. So I told him I'd be more than happy to let him. I explained to him my plots for each story, and though he wanted to make some changes (all good ones, I assure you), for the most part he's going to keep it the same.**

**As of now he's re-writing _Can't Stop the World_ along with his own story, _Tick _(which is a great read so far), so I'm not sure when he'll get around to _Take a Bow_.**

**But he seems like a good guy, and excited to write, so please, go check out his stuff. **

**Again, sorry, but at least you'll get to see the end of two of my stories!**

**And ya never know, I _may _be back.**


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